Blog Post

The Let’s Move! campaign is the epitome of who and what I want to be. I have dreamed of working with this initiative since before I joined FoodCorps. It was this movement that encouraged me to pursue a Master’s in Public Health! Thus, meeting the First Lady was an amazing moment that has made my experience as a FoodCorps service member that much more rich and continues to inspire me to work for programs and initiatives that combat childhood obesity.

Fresh from a Harvest of the Month tasting of cabbage in an Asian-style slaw the day before, there were an overwhelming number of students who named cabbage as their favorite vegetable when the First Lady asked.

Michelle Obama is an amazing woman and, though I already knew that, it was truly inspiring to see the First Lady getting her hands dirty with us: sifting out worms from the vermicompost bin, chopping up food scraps for compost, planting seeds to indoors, and thinning seedlings. She talks the talk and walks the walk.

The First Lady offered inspiring words to the students and encouraged them to follow their dreams of becoming basketball players, lawyers, and rappers (which the children expressed they’d like to become). She said that they could accomplish all of those things but it was of the utmost importance that they stay in school, go to college, and don’t ever forget to eat right and exercise to give themselves their best chance.

ALL PHOTOS: First Lady Michelle Obama, in support of “Let’s Move!” visits Burroughs Elementary School in Washington, D.C., Feb. 25, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Read more about the visit inThe Washington Post. Keep up with the First Lady’s garden efforts on the South Lawn of the White House and across the country by following @whkitchengarden on Instagram.